As per the study, the global bio-succinic acid market volume is expected to grow at a CAGR of 45.6 per cent between 2013 and 2020. The market revenue was estimated to be $115.2 million in 2013 and is expected to grow to $1.1 billion by 2020. Increase in demand of bio-based chemicals is the major driver for this market. In addition, rising crude oil prices, adoption in newer industrial applications namely, 1,4-Butanediol (BDO), PBS, polyester polyols (polyurethane), and plasticizers will enable faster growth of the market.

Succinic acid is used as an intermediate chemical for a wide range of applications such as industrial, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Until now, common source of succinic acid at industrial level was fossil fuel. However, petroleum based succinic acid shows significant carbon footprint during manufacturing process. This concern is now taken care with the development process of bio-based succinic acid from agricultural feedstock.

“The potential for bio-succinic acid market is in the replacement of existing succinic acid and adoption in newer industrial application areas, namely, 1,4-butanediol (BDO), PBS, polyesterpolyols (polyurethane), alkyd resins and plasticizers. These factors together will provide faster growth thrust to the market” states Allied Market Research analyst Sarah Clark.

“Presently, price of bio-succinic acid may hinder market growth as it costs higher than petroleum based succinic acid. However, mass production and improvement in production techniques will quickly address the cost viability issue of the bio-succinic acid market” adds Ms. Clark. Moreover, lower volatility of feedstock prices will add to its stable adoption in various application segments.

Bio-succinic acid is currently being adopted the most in non-industrial applications such as food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. However, BDO is one of the major application segments of bio-succinic acid in terms of volume as well as revenue. This is mainly due to higher application of BDO as an intermediate chemical in production of THF (tetrahydrofuran), PBT (polybutylene terephtalate), and polyurethanes.

Additionally, the larger volume of bio-succinic acid consumed as compared to maleic anhydride for production of BDO will also be the contributory to the growth of bio-succinic acid market. On the other hand, alkyd resins application is the fastest growing segment in terms of volume, growing at a CAGR of 93.6 per cent during 2013-2020.

Geographical analysis of the market revealed that Europe is and will continue to be the leading revenue generating regional market till 2020. This is mainly due to strict regulatory imposition on the use of certain hazardous chemicals which pose as a threat to environment and human beings. Hence, to comply with the requirements, manufacturers are shifting to greener substitutes (bio-succinic acid). Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market at a CAGR of 49.5 per cent during the analysis period.

The report has profiled some of the key players of the market such as BioAmber, Myraint, DSM, Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi, BASF, Roquette Freres S.A., Purac and Reverdia.